Art

For most parents, children’s art is just something to stick on the fridge and stow away when possible. But those splodgy works of art could actually be a window to their soul. Honestly.

Instead of trying to get young children, who often have a very limited vocabulary, to talk about how they feel, their drawings can be used to help them express their emotions. And while such a process is a form of art therapy, you definitely don’t have to be a trained art therapist to use it.

Art psychotherapist Fransie Frandsen says art therapy is very different from the popular belief that it’s just the interpretation of drawings – explaining that it uses art as a form of communication and expression, helping to identify, convey and process difficult emotions.

“As an art psychotherapist working with children, I find the idea of artwork becoming a ‘third person’ in a session particularly important,” she says. “This dialogue between therapist, child and artwork helps to make the process feel safer, so it becomes possible to gently turn on the lights of those dark rooms they avoid.”

Frandsen, whose children’s book Do Grannies Have Green Fingers is about to be published, says as well as art therapy being a specialised area of mental health therapy, creating art through drawing, painting, colouring or sculpture is therapeutic in itself. bringing focus, satisfaction and calm that remains long afterwards.

“Whether you’re in lockdown, holidays or at any other time, there are many art activities that can be done together at home, which are fun and at the same time hugely beneficial for a child’s wellbeing,” she says. “With the emphasis on the process of doing art together, rather than what the drawing or painting looks like, these activities can encourage bonding, create dialogue and allow family members to share and talk about the world and their feelings.”

Here, Frandsen suggests 5 fun art activities that will help children and families bond and express their emotions…